Ash-cart



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Modl.)

D. M. HOLMES. ASH CART.

N0. 466,038. Patented Dec. 29, 1891.

4 z fi/f U T ESSES' INVENTUB B.W.MW w BY CA W YM/u UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DANIEL M. HOLMES, OF ARLINGTON, NEW JERSEY.

ASH-CART.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 466,038, dated December 29, 1891.

Application filed May 12, 1891. Serial No. 392,478. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, DANIEL M. HoLMEs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Arlington, in the county of Hudson and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Ash-Carts, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates especially to the construction and arrangement of carts or wagons employed for collecting, conveying,anddun1ping ashes, street-dust, &c., and has for its ob ject the provision of a cart easy to load and unload, whereby the dust will be prevented from flying and wherein the contents are covered and securely confined.

To attain the desired end my invention consists, essentially, in a body provided with a closed top, wherein are located double hinged doors arranged to be drawn upward and .inward when it is desired to empty material into the cart and which will automatically close when released. The cart-body is provided with a dumping-door, means for releasing the same, and means for automatically closing said door when the contents of the cart have been discharged. This body is provided with ears for engaging with a suitable yoke for raising the body for dumping, and when in use for collecting the body is held in a supporting-frame, with which the. axle is connected; and my invention also involves certain other novel and useful combinations or arrangements of parts and peculiarities of construction and operation, all of which will be hereinafter first fully described, and then pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side View of myimproved ash-cart body. Fig. 2 is a crosssectional view of the same back of the supporting-axle. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the body-supporting frame.

Like letters of reference, wherever they occur, indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

A A are the sides of the cart-body, made of any approved material, and B is the bottom.

0 is a longitudinal rib supported by the end pieces D D, forming the top of the body.

E E are hinges secured to the rib 0 near each end thereof and connected to a piece F.

H H are doors or covers connected to the piece F by hinges I. Secured to the upper edge of each cover, near each side, is a flexible strap J, the center whereof is secured to the upper edge of the rib O. Overthese straps and the entire upper portion of the top of the cart-body is placed a piece of canvas or equivalent material K, designed to prevent the escape of dust.

L is a strap of ironpassing between the'end pieces D, and M are bars of angle-iron passing therefrom to the sides A, where they are firmly secured.

N is an eye fixed in each door H, and O is a cord passing from an eye througha pulley P, secured to a bracket upon the rib O, and from thence to a pulley B. This cord 0 terminates in a metal knob S, adapted and arranged to engage with a forked catch T when .it is desired to hold the cover H open.

U U are eye-bars secured at each side of the cart-body in front of the center of gravity and designed to engage with suitable mechanism for lifting the body from its supporting-frame and swinging it to the point where it is to be dumped.

V is a dumping-gate hinged to the cartbody at W.

a is a spring-rod, which extends through the interior of the cart-body from side to side, the inner end being fixed in place and the outer portion form ed into an eye I), wherewith a link 0 engages, passing from said eye to a fixed eye d upon the gate V.

e is a catch-hook, pivoted at f and having its long arm bent, as at g. This catch is normally held in the position shown in Fig. 1 by the bar h, pivoted to the cart-body at t. 1

k is a cord secured to bar h, passing therefrom around a pulley Z, through eyes m m, and engaging with a hook upon along cord n.

0 is the bent axle of the cart-frame, and p are the wheels mounted thereon.

s are the shafts, and t are bars passing therefrom to the axle.

o o are other bars passing from a footboard 20 downward, back beneath the cartbody, and upward at the rear thereof, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 1.

When constructed and arranged as above described, the operation of my cart is as follows: The parts being all assembled for use and the door V closed, it will be held in place by the catch e and firmly braced by the upwardly-extending bars at the rear of the cartframe. .Vhen it is desired to empty the contents of a barrel or other receptacle into the cart-body, the attendant draws upon the cord 0. This will cause the cover to move upon the double hinges both inward and upward, the straps at the top keeping at all times extended, and when the cover is fully opened the position of the parts will be as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 2. As the door rises it will not swing inward and downward, as would be the case if it were simply mounted upon hinges at the upper edge; but the lower edge will be carried upward, avoiding contact with the material which may be heaped within the cart. By slipping the knob S into the catch T the cover will be held open while the cart is being filled, and when said knob is released the cover will at once automatieally close by gravity, and the straps at the top will force the bottom outward, such movement being limited by the side irons M, against which the closed cover strikes. In emptying barrels, cans, 850., if the contents happen to be packed hard, as is often the case, the receptacle may be forcibly rolled and arred against the side irons M, effectually loosening the contents with very little trouble. \Vhen the cart-body has been filled and the cart driven to the dumping-place, the hooks ot' aerane are attached to the eyes U and the body raised from the supporting-frame and swung over a scow or other receiver, and as the cord n is retained in the hand of the attendant a pull thereon will release the catch 6 and the entire contents of the cart-body will be discharged and the springs to will force the door V closed, ready for lowering back onto the cart-frame.

Having now fully described my invention, what I claim as new therein, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. An ash-cart in which is comprised a removable closed body having automaticallyclosing covers therein, an automatically-closin g discharging-gate, and a cart-frame adapted and arranged to receive and support the cart-body, the whole combined and arranged substantially as shown. and described.

2. In an ash-cart of the character herein specified, the combination, with the body, of the discharging-gate, hinged as set forth and provided with closing springs, and mechanism for releasing the holding-catch at the bottom of the eart-body, substantially as shown and described.

3. In an ash-cart of the character herein specified, the combination, with a closed body, of a cover hinged near the top and arranged to swinginward and upward, substantially as shown and described.

4. In an ash-cart of the character herein specified, the combination, with a closed body, of a cover having double-acting hinges secured near the center of the top of the body, substantially as shown and described.

5. In an ash-cart of the character herein specified, the combination, with the cart-bod y, of a cover hinged as set forth and arranged to open inwardly, and a flexible connection between the upper edge of the cover outside of the pivotal point of the hinge and a fixed point at the top of the cart-body, substantially as shown and described.

6. In an ash-cart of the character herein specified, the combination, with the closed body having. a hinged cover therein arranged to open inwardly and to automatically close, of the stop-bars M at each side of the door, substantially as shown and described.

'7. In an ash-cart of the character herein specified, a closed body, a fixed cross-rib at the top thereof, double-acting hinges secured thereto and connected to a door near the upper edge thereof, flexible connections between the upper edge of the cover or door and the upper edge of the cross-rib, and means for raising and securing the door or cover in an elevated position, the whole combined and arranged to operate substantially as shown and described.

DANIEL M. HOLMES.

\Vitnesses:

A. M. PIERCE, WM. II. WEIGHTMAN. 

